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Two bodies were discovered in a flat on the 11th floor of Block 285 Tampines Street 22 on Saturday (Oct. 22).

Responding to Mothership's queries, the police said that they responded to a call for assistance at 11.52am on Oct. 22.

"A 70-year-old man and a 92-year-old woman were found lying motionless inside a residential unit and were pronounced dead at scene", the police said.

According to Chinese media Shinmin Daily News (Shin Min), the deceased are a mother and son pair.

Rotting smell present since week before

A neighbour on the same floor as the deceased, Lu, 34, told Shin Min that a rotting smell persisted in the air while his family and he were baking on Saturday.

They were then shocked to find a large police presence outside the affected unit.

A neighbour on the 10th floor told Shin Min reporters that she already detected the rotting stench last week.

She dismissed the smell then, thinking it was caused by her neighbour's cooking.

When Shin Min reporters visited the location on Sunday (Oct. 23), the stench was still present in the air. They also observed a clear plastic bag and an identification card outside the unit.

The affected unit had also been cordoned off, and police officers were seen conducting investigations in and around the unit, Shin Min reported.

Son was introverted & filial

Neighbours pointed out that the 70-year-old man was a closed-off individual.

Lu told Shin Min that he did not know the deceased neighbours and had not seen them before.

The 10th floor neighbour told Shin Min that the man would sometimes wait to take the next lift if the there were others present.

According to a resident who lived in the same block for 40 years, she thought the man was introverted, polite and filial.

“Everyday around 3pm or 4pm in the afternoon, he will head downstairs to get food. We greet each other, but are not close. He knew my husband”, the neighbour told Shin Min.

She added that the 92-year-old mother became wheelchair-dependent after the Covid-19 pandemic.

No foul play suspected

According to Shin Min, police investigations on Saturday went on for around six hours before the bodies were carried away at around 5.50pm.

Neighbours speculated on what happened, with some suggesting the man died of grief after his mother had passed away, Shin Min wrote.

Others speculate that the elderly woman had passed on due to starvation following his son's death, with no one to buy her food.

"Based on preliminary investigations, the police do not suspect foul play", the police said.

The police added that investigations are ongoing.

Top image via Shinmin Daily News